Birds, Botanical Prints Pique Natural Interest

September 13, 1991|INTERIOR MOTIVES, Florence Pion

As a child, Kenneth Reasoner would visit his grandmother, who collected porcelain birds. Grandma`s collection was housed in a vitrine in the formal living room, where he was not permitted to go. But Kenneth would sneak into the room anyway and gaze at the birds, waiting for them to move. He would tap on the case; Grandma would be alerted.

Finally, she offered to pay for half of all his acquisitions of bird porcelains. The other half came from his bag boy earnings at the grocery store.

That started Reasoner on his career. His Fort Lauderdale gallery, Kenneth R, offers porcelains, prints and paintings.

Birds still figure in much of his collection, including the old prints that we love to use to dress the walls of vintage interiors.

I was eager to broaden my knowledge about prints. Besides, who knows when I might stumble upon a treasure in a garage sale?

Both ornithology (birds) and botanicals (flowers) were popular subjects with artists even before the advent of quality engraving in the late 1700s, Reasoner said.

During the 1600s, owning rare tulip bulbs was a measure of wealth and prestige. Original color renderings of these plants were created by artists for catalogs, which were taken by salesmen and shown to prospective customers. The catalogs were the forerunners of the botanical print.

``A catalog of 36 to 50 pieces sells currently at auction for $180,000 to $190,000, and in June, Sotheby`s sold three catalog pages for $15,000 per piece,`` Reasoner said.

One of the best known botanical illustrators, who worked from the late 1700s to around 1830, was Pierre-Joseph Redoute, court painter to Queen Marie Antoinette and Empress Josephine Bonaparte. He made stipple steel or silver engravings as records of the flowers that bloomed in the court gardens. His largest project, Les Liliacees, recorded the lilies that bloomed at Malmaison, Josephine`s summer home.

Redoute produced eight volumes, with 488 stipple-engraved plates. Only 200 copies were reproduced. ``A set sells currently at auction for $600,000,`` Reasoner said.

Mark Catesby, English naturalist and artist, was the earliest of the renowned bird painters. Working in the mid-1700s, he is best known for his travels in Virginia, the Carolinas and Florida to study the prolific variety of birds. Most of his works had a primitive quality since he did his studies from dead, stuffed birds. Like his predecesors, his works were presented in portfolios that were often bound into books by their owners. His major portfolio was History of Florida and the Carolinas. Reasoner said a first edition of the portfolio is worth $225,000.

Another English naturalist, John Prideaux Selby, 1770-1830, was an illustrator of British ornithology. His major work consisted of a seven-volume set of 272 bird subjects; 100 sets were made. Selby supported himself by selling his works through subscription to collectors and patrons. Although he used the best engraver of the period, Lizars Engravers in Edinburgh, Scotland, he did most of the platemaking and hand coloring. His studies were done from mounted birds but his approach was less primitive than some of his contemporaries. His portfolio currently is worth $100,000, said Reasoner, who has examples of his work.

Selby was a contemporary of American John James Audubon, a naturalist and an artist who used mounted birds as his models, surrounding them with the foliage of their natural habitats.

Audubon was an itinerate painter, working from patron to patron who footed his bills, but he was relatively poor all of his life. He traveled throughout the United States, painting birds until a full portfolio of 435 subjects was compiled.

The Birds of America portfolio, issued by subscription in 1838 at an approximate cost of $2,500, has a current value of close to $4 million. It is known as the double elephant portfolio because of the large page size -- about 30 by 40 inches. London engraver Robert Havell Jr. handled the entire production for Audubon including the engraving and coloring.

``The New York City Public Library sold its complete set five years ago at auction for about $2.5 million,`` Reasoner said.

The original Havells were printed on J. Watman & Sons watermarked and dated paper, so the collector can determine the printing date from the watermarks. J. Watman & Sons was the primary supplier of fine paper of the period and supplied the paper for Selby as well. Handmade paper contains acid which, with age, causes foxing, or aging marks. Usually they can be removed, Reasoner said.

Audubon reprints have been made in many sizes and editions from the early 1900s to the present; their value ranges from about $50 to $300.

---- Florence Pion is a professional member of the American Society of Interior Designers, based in Boca Raton. Send your questions about home design and decor to her in care of Lifestyle, Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd., Fort Lauderdale, Fla. 33301-2293. Questions of general interest will be answered in this column. Personal replies will not be possible.

COURSES OFFERED

Florence Pion will teach three courses this fall at Florida Atlantic University`s Division of Continuing Education in Fleming Hall on the Boca Raton campus. Antiques and Collectibles will be given on Tuesdays from Sept. 24 to Oct. 29; fee is $65. Interior Design I will be offered on Mondays from Sept. 23-to Oct. 28, and Interior Design II from Nov. 4 to Dec. 16; fee for each course is $75. All classes are 7:10-9:10 p.m. For information or registration, call 1-407-367-3092.